NHS slammed over lack of info
Planners need details of GP coverage
NHS Forth Valley came in for fierce criticism at a meeting of Stirling Council’s planning panel.
It emerged NHS officials failed to respond to repeated requests for details on what health facilities would be needed to support up to 500 new homes in the area.
In the course of last week’s meeting to discuss the two major adjoining housing developments, several references were made to the lack of response from NHS Forth Valley.
Council planning officer Jane Brooks-Burnett said she had asked for the information several times over a fairly lengthy period and had also made clear to NHS Forth Valley that the developers could not be required to contribute to additional health service facilities if the board had not supplied figures.
She added: “We cannot request a developer to make a contribution if we don’t know what that is and we only know if NHS Forth Valley outline that to us. Without their input it’s impossible to quantify that.
“I was passed from one person to another in a cyclical manner with no one coming back to us. I clearly highlighted the situation to them. It wasn’t just a case of sending out a consultation request. I chased them up on a number of occasions.”
Among issues raised by locals at the hearing was the absolute necessity for further health facilities should the developments be approved. They also claimed there were already difficulties getting appointments and that of the three GPs currently at the local surgery one was about to retire and there was no sign as yet of a replacement.
Community council spokesperson Clare Stephenson said: “New tenants will not be able to register at the GP surgery and I am disappointed and in fact shocked that the NHS haven’t been engaged with this. I can’t see how this can progress without an NHS solution. How are we going to manage this mix of houses. There will be a big range of health needs and if we can’t have a GP surgery that can deal with these where do we go?”
Developers of one of the sites, Taylor Wimpey, said in their experience the lack of response from the NHS in general to such applications was not unusual.
The applications had sought permission for up to 500 houses - 433 by Taylor Wimpey and 67 by Omnivale Ltd - on a site at the western edge of Cowie. Although the sites are allocated in the adopted Local Development Plan, agreement could not be reached with the developers to provide education contributions in line with the council’s policy and the applications were refused.
Following the meeting, panel chair Councillor Alasdair MacPherson said: “It is very clear that panel members were not convinced by the cases made by the applicants’ agents and unanimously supported the officer recommendations to refuse both applications.”
Pauline Mills, Land and Planning Director for Taylor Wimpey East Scotland said the company was “disappointed” by the panel’s decision, adding: “As well as new homes, our proposals included plans for a nature park, formal public open spaces, community areas and links to the existing community of Cowie. Our applications to Stirling Council followed an extensive public consultation process where we took the opportunity to positively engage with the local community and other key stakeholders as we developed our proposals for our emerging scheme.
“Berryhills was allocated for new housing in Stirling Council’s Local Development Plan which was adopted in September 2014, and therefore we will carefully consider our next steps in order to understand how we might deliver a masterplan that we believe will bring positive benefits to the local area.”
A spokesperson for NHS Forth Valley said: “We have been in contact with Stirling Council since 2014 regarding the proposed housing development in Cowie and provided some information regarding the potential impact this could have on existing health services.
“We would be happy to provide any additional information required if plans for new housing are submitted in the future.
“There are currently five GPs who cover three sites (Cowie, Fallin and Airth) three of whom are of retirement age. However there are no plans for any imminent retirals and no doctor would expect to leave without a replacement being found.”